Effect of different host plants on population development of the sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn., Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)
1985
Sharaf, N.S. | Al-Musa, A.M. | Batta, Y. (Jordan Univ., Amman (Jordan))
Greenhouse experiments were conducted to study the effect of different host plants on population development of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Genn. Whiteflies reared on common bean plants completed development in 30.2 days, whereas those reared at the same temperature and relative humidity (22-23 deg C, 57-61% RH) on cucumber, eggplant, squash and tomato plants required 22.3-23.5 days. Female whiteflies lived for a longer time (1-29 days) on tomatoes and eggplants than on squash plants (2-23 days), beans (3-20 days) or cucumbers (2-19 days). Sex-ratio (female:male) in adult whiteflies was the highest for those reared on egg plants (1.63:1), followed in descending order by squash plants (1.55:1), beans (1.46:1), cucumbers (1.13:1) and tomatoes (1.07:1). Gravid female whiteflies laid the highest number of eggs on tomatoes (8.72 eggs/cm2), followed in descending order by squash (2.61), eggplant (0.94), bean (0.77) and cucumber plants (0.72). However, mortality in the immature stages was the lowest on eggplants (12.08%), followed in ascending order by tomatoes (16.27%), beans (23.44%), cucumbers (25.57%) and squash plants (27.35%). Thus, whitefly population density was highest on tomatoes (33.86 individuals/cm2), followed by squash plants (8.64). It was intermediate on eggplants (4.12) and beans (3.98) and lowest on cucumbers (2.52). In view of the afore mentioned results, population build-up of whiteflies was estimated for three generations on the different tested host plants. Accordingly, a cropping pattern for controlling whiteflies and reducing the incidence of virus diseases transmitted by them was suggested for the Jordan Valley
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